Apparatus of plural charged-particle beams

ABSTRACT

A secondary projection imaging system in a multi-beam apparatus is proposed, which makes the secondary electron detection with high collection efficiency and low cross-talk. The system employs one zoom lens, one projection lens and one anti-scanning deflection unit. The zoom lens and the projection lens respectively perform the zoom function and the anti-rotating function to remain the total imaging magnification and the total image rotation with respect to the landing energies and/or the currents of the plural primary beamlets. The anti-scanning deflection unit performs the anti-scanning function to eliminate the dynamic image displacement due to the deflection scanning of the plural primary beamlets.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisionalapplication No. 62/260,822 entitled to Ren et al. filed on Nov. 30, 2015and entitled “Apparatus of Plural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/065,342entitled to Ren et al. filed on Mar. 9, 2016 and entitled “Apparatus ofPlural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/078,369entitled to Ren et al. filed on Mar. 23, 2016 and entitled “Apparatus ofPlural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/150,858entitled to Liu et al. filed on May 10, 2016 and entitled “Apparatus ofPlural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/213,781entitled to Li et al. filed on Jul. 19, 2016 and entitled “Apparatus ofPlural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 15/216,258entitled to Ren et al. filed on Jul. 21, 2016 and entitled “Apparatus ofPlural Charged-Particle Beams”, the entire disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a charged-particle apparatus with aplurality of charged-particle beams. More particularly, it relates to anapparatus which employs plural charged-particle beams to simultaneouslyacquire images of plural scanned regions of an observed area on a samplesurface. Hence, the apparatus can be used to inspect and/or reviewdefects on wafers/masks with high resolution and high throughput insemiconductor manufacturing industry.

2. Description of the Prior Art

For manufacturing semiconductor IC chips, pattern defects and/oruninvited particles (residuals) inevitably appear on surfaces ofwafers/mask during fabrication processes, which reduce the yield to agreat degree. To meet the more and more advanced requirements onperformance of IC chips, the patterns with smaller and smaller criticalfeature dimensions have been adopted. Accordingly, the conventionalyield management tools with optical beam gradually become incompetentdue to diffraction effect, and yield management tools with electron beamare more and more employed. Compared to a photon beam, an electron beamhas a shorter wavelength and thereby possibly offering superior spatialresolution. Currently, the yield management tools with electron beamemploy the principle of scanning electron microscope (SEM) with a singleelectron beam, which therefore can provide higher resolution but can notprovide throughputs competent for mass production. Although the higherand higher beam currents can be used to increase the throughputs, thesuperior spatial resolutions will be fundamentally deteriorated byCoulomb Effect which increases with the beam current.

For mitigating the limitation on throughput, instead of using a singleelectron beam with a large current, a promising solution is to use aplurality of electron beams each with a small current. The plurality ofelectron beams forms a plurality of probe spots on one being-inspectedor observed surface of a sample. The plurality of probe spots canrespectively and simultaneously scan a plurality of small scannedregions within a large observed area on the sample surface. Theelectrons of each probe spot generate secondary electrons from thesample surface where they land on. The secondary electrons comprise slowsecondary electrons (energies ≤50 eV) and backscattered electrons(energies close to landing energies of the electrons). The secondaryelectrons from the plurality of small scanned regions can berespectively and simultaneously collected by a plurality of electrondetectors respectively. Consequently, the image of the large observedarea can be obtained much faster than scanning the large observed areawith a single beam.

The plurality of electron beams can be either from a plurality ofelectron sources respectively, or from a single electron source. For theformer, the plurality of electron beams is usually focused onto andscans the plurality of small scanned regions by a plurality of columnsrespectively, and the secondary electrons from each scanned region aredetected by one electron detector inside the corresponding column. Theapparatus therefore is generally called as a multi-column apparatus. Theplural columns can be either independent or share a multi-axis magneticor electromagnetic-compound objective lens (such as shown in U.S. Pat.No. 8,294,095). On the sample surface, the beam interval or pitchbetween two adjacent beams is usually as large as 30˜50 mm.

For the latter, a source-conversion unit virtually changes the singleelectron source into a plurality of sub-sources. The source-conversionunit comprises one beamlet-forming (or beamlet-limit) means with aplurality of beam-limit openings and one image-forming means with aplurality of electron optics elements. The plurality of beam-limitopenings divides the primary-electron beam generated by the singleelectron source into a plurality of sub-beams or beamlets respectively,and the plurality of electron optics elements (round lenses such as U.S.Pat. No. 7,244,949 or deflectors such as CROSS REFERENCE) influence theplurality of beamlets to form a plurality of parallel (virtual if usingthe deflectors and real if using the round lenses) images of the singleelectron source. Each image can be taken as one sub-source which emitsone corresponding beamlet. To make more beamlets available, the beamletintervals are at micro meter level. Naturally, one primary projectionimaging system and one deflection scanning unit within one single columnare used to project the plurality of parallel images onto and scan theplurality of small scanned regions respectively. Within the singlecolumn, the plurality of secondary electron beams generated from theplurality of small scanned regions is respectively detected by aplurality of detection elements of one electron detection device. Theplurality of detection elements can be a plurality of electron detectorsplaced side by side (such as PMT, SDD) or a plurality of pixels of oneelectron detector (such as e-CCD and SDD). The apparatus therefore isgenerally called as a multi-beam apparatus.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment (U.S. application Ser. No. 15/216,258 inCROSS REFERENCE) of the multi-beam apparatus. The electron source 101generates a primary-electron beam 102 along the primary optical axis100_1 and with a source crossover 101 s, whose peripheral electrons arecut off by the main aperture plate 171. The movable condenser lens 110collimates the primary-electron beam 102 which is then perpendicularlyincident onto the source-conversion unit 120. Three beamlets 102_1,102_2 and 102_3 of the primary-electron beam 102 respectively passthrough the three beam-limit openings 121_1, 121_2 and 121_3 of thebeamlet-forming means 121 and are deflected to form three virtual images(located far away and difficult to show here) of the source crossover101 s by the three micro-deflectors 122_1, 122_2 and 122_3 of theimage-forming means 122. The objective lens 131 focuses the threedeflected beamlets 102_1, 102_2 and 102_3 onto the surface 7 of thesample 8, and accordingly generates three images 102_1S, 102_2S and102_3S of the source crossover 101 s thereon and with equal interval orpitch Ps. Each image forms one probe spot on the surface 7, and thethree images are also called as three probe spots 102_1S, 102_2S and102_3. The deflection scanning unit 132 deflects the three beamlets102_1˜102_3 together and therefore the three probe spots 102_1S˜102_3Srespectively scan one scanned region of the surface 7. The principalplane 110_2 of the movable condenser lens 110 can be moved electricallywithin a desired range along the primary optical axis 100_1.Appropriately and simultaneously changing the focusing power and theprincipal plane position of the movable condenser lens 110, the currentdensity of the collimated primary-electron beam 102 can be changed andthe currents of the three probe spots 102_1S˜102_3 will changeaccordingly.

In a multi-beam apparatus, the plurality of detection elements areplaced on an image plane of the sample surface, where each secondaryelectron beam from one small scanned region is focused onto onecorresponding detection element. Due to the emission of the secondaryelectrons conforms Lambert's law and has a large energy spread, allsecondary electrons of each secondary electron beam can not be fullyfocused into the corresponding detection element. The secondaryelectrons detected by one detection element can be classified into twoparts, the first part includes those from the corresponding secondaryelectron beam and the second part includes the rest from the othersecondary electron beams. The two parts respectively determine thecollection efficiency of secondary electrons from the correspondingsmall scanned region and the cross-talk level among the plurality ofsmall scanned regions, and both influence the image resolution of thecorresponding small scanned region.

The image plane can be the one formed only by the objective lens ofprimary projection imaging system (such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,943,349) orthe one formed by the objective lens and one secondary projectionimaging system such as U.S. Pat. No. 9,035,249 and U.S. application Ser.No. 15/065,342 (150 in FIG. 1). In the first case, the position of theimage plane and the imaging magnification thereon change with theoperation conditions of the objective lens, and the operation conditionschange with the landing energies and/or currents of the plurality ofbeamlets. Hence the plurality of detection elements can only providehigh collection efficiency and low cross-talk level for some specificapplications. In the second case, the secondary projection imagingsystem can keep the position of the image plane and the imagingmagnification thereon with respective to the operation conditions of theobjective lens, therefore can provide high collection efficiency and lowcross-talk level even if the landing energies and/or currents changewithin large ranges.

In FIG. 1, each secondary electron beam generated by each probe spot,such as 102_1 se due to the probe spot 102_1S, travels along theopposite direction of the primary optical axis 100_1. After in passingfocused by the objective lens 131 and deflected by the deflectionscanning unit 132, the three secondary electron beams 102_1 se, 102_2 seand 102_3 se are intentionally diverted by the beam separator 160 (suchas a Wien Filter) to enter the secondary projection imaging system 150along the secondary optical axis 150_1 thereof. The secondary projectionimaging system 150 focuses the three secondary electron beams 102_1se˜102_3 se onto the electron detection device 140 which have threedetection elements with equal pitch Pd, i.e. forming the threesecondary-electron spots respectively inside the three detectionelements. Therefore the electron detection device 140 can simultaneouslygenerate the images of the three scanned regions scanned by the threeprobe spots 102_1S, 102_2S and 102_3S respectively.

As mentioned above, one secondary projection imaging system is criticalfor providing high collection efficiency and low cross-talk level evenif the landing energies and/or currents of the plurality of beamletschange within large ranges. High collection efficiency is especiallyadvantageous for achieving high inspection throughput, and lowcross-talk is especially advantageous for achieving high inspectionresolution. Therefore the performance of one secondary projectionimaging system finally determines both of the inspection resolution andthe inspection throughput. The present invention will provide onesecondary projection imaging system with advanced performance for amulti-beam apparatus, especially for those used as yield managementtools in semiconductor manufacturing industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to provide a secondary projectionimaging system of a multi-beam apparatus, which makes the secondaryelectron detection with both high collection efficiency and lowcross-talk level even if the landing energies and/or currents of aplurality of beamlets change within large ranges. As a yield managementtool in semiconductor manufacturing industry, the multi-beam apparatustherefore can achieve high inspection resolution and high inspectionthroughput in many application conditions.

Accordingly, the invention therefore provides a multi-beam apparatus forobserving a surface of a sample, which comprises an electron source, acondenser lens below the electron source, a source-conversion unit belowthe condenser lens, an objective lens below the source-conversion unit,a deflection scanning unit below the source-conversion unit, a samplestage below the objective lens, a beam separator below thesource-conversion unit, and a detection unit above the beam separatorand with a secondary projection imaging system, and an electrondetection device with a plurality of detection elements.

The electron source, the condenser lens, the source-conversion unit, theobjective lens, the deflection scanning unit and the beam separator arealigned with a primary optical axis of the apparatus. The sample stagesustains the sample so that the surface faces to the objective lens. Thedetection unit is aligned with a secondary optical axis of theapparatus, and the secondary optical axis is not parallel to the primaryoptical axis.

The plurality of detection elements is placed on a detection plane, andthe secondary projection imaging system comprises a zoom lens, ananti-scanning deflection unit and a projection lens.

The electron source generates a primary electron beam along the primaryoptical axis. The condenser lens focuses the primary electron beam to acertain degree. The source-conversion unit changes the primary electronbeam into a plurality of beamlets and makes the plurality of beamletsform a plurality of first images of the electron source. The objectivelens focuses the plurality of beamlets to image the plurality of firstimages onto the surface and therefore forms a plurality of probe spotsthereon respectively. The deflection scanning unit deflects theplurality of beamlets to scan the plurality of probe spots respectivelyover a plurality of scanned regions within an observed area on thesurface.

A plurality of secondary electron beams is generated by the plurality ofprobe spots respectively from the plurality of scanned regions and thenincident to the objective lens. The objective lens in passing focusesthe plurality of secondary electron beams. The beam separator deflectsthe plurality of secondary electron beams to enter the secondaryprojection imaging system along the secondary optical axis. The zoomlens focuses the plurality of secondary electron beams onto a transferplane. The transfer plane is between the zoom lens and the projectionlens. The plurality of secondary electron beams forms a first crossoverbetween the zoom lens and the transfer plane.

The projection lens then focuses the plurality of secondary electronbeams onto the detection plane. The plurality of secondary electronbeams forms a second crossover between the projection lens and thedetection plane and a plurality of secondary-electron spots on thedetection plane. The plurality of secondary-electron spots is inside theplurality of detection elements respectively. consequently acorresponding relationship between the plurality of probe spots and theplurality of detection elements is established. Accordingly eachdetection element generates an image signal of one corresponding scannedregion.

The anti-scanning deflection unit deflects the plurality of secondaryelectron beams in step with the plurality of probe spots scanning overthe plurality of scanned regions to remain positions of the plurality ofsecondary-electron spots and thereby keeping the correspondingrelationship all the time.

An imaging magnification of the zoom lens is adjusted to keep thecorresponding relationship when observing the surface in differentconditions.

The apparatus may further comprise a secondary beam-limit aperture tocut off peripheral electrons of the plurality of secondary electronbeams. The apparatus may further comprise a field lens placed at thetransfer plane to reduce off-axis aberrations of the projection lens.The apparatus may further comprise a stigmator to compensate astigmatismaberrations of the plurality of secondary electron beams due to the beamseparator. The apparatus may further comprise an alignment deflector tocompensate a deviation of the corresponding relationship due tomanufacturing and/or assembly errors of the detection unit. Theanti-scanning deflection unit is between the beam separator and the zoomlens.

In one embodiment, the zoom lens comprises a first zoom sub-lens and asecond zoom sub-lens, and the second zoom sub-lens is between the firstzoom sub-lens and the transfer plane. The anti-scanning deflection unitis between the first and second zoom sub-lenses. The anti-scanningdeflection unit deflects the plurality of secondary electron beamsincident to the second zoom sub-lens along the secondary optical axis.The secondary projection imaging system comprises a field lens placed atthe transfer plane to reduce radial shifts and tilt angles of theplurality of secondary electron beams incident to the projection lens.The secondary projection imaging system comprises a secondary beam-limitaperture plate with one or more openings, and that one or one of themore openings is placed at a position of the second crossover to cut offperipheral electrons of the plurality of secondary electron beams. Thesecondary projection imaging system comprises a field lens placed at thetransfer plane to bend the plurality of secondary electron beams to keepthe position of the second crossover when observing the surface indifferent conditions.

In one embodiment, the secondary projection imaging system may comprisea stigmator placed at or close to the first crossover to compensateastigmatism aberrations of the plurality of secondary-electron spots dueto the beam separator.

In one embodiment, the objective lens has a first magnetic lens. Thefield lens may have a second magnetic lens which cancels rotationvariations of the plurality of secondary-electron spots when observingthe surface in different conditions. The zoom lens may have a secondmagnetic lens which cancels rotation variations of the plurality ofsecondary-electron spots when observing the surface in differentconditions. The projection lens may have a second magnetic lens whichcancels rotation variations of the plurality of secondary-electron spotswhen observing the surface in different conditions.

In one embodiment, the secondary projection imaging system comprises analignment deflector, which is between the secondary beam-limit apertureplate and the detection plane to compensate a deviation of thecorresponding relationship due to manufacturing and/or assembly errorsof the detection unit. The plurality of secondary electron beams is aplurality of slow secondary electron beams respectively. The pluralityof secondary electron beams is a plurality of backscattered electronbeams respectively.

The present invention also provides a multi-beam apparatus for observinga surface of a sample, which comprises an electron source, a condenserlens below the electron source, a source-conversion unit below thecondenser lens, an objective lens below the a source-conversion unit, adeflection scanning unit below the source-conversion unit, a samplestage below the objective lens, a beam separator below the asource-conversion unit, and a detection unit above the beam separatorand comprising a secondary projection imaging system and an electrondetection device with a plurality of detection elements.

The electron source, the condenser lens, the source-conversion unit, theobjective lens, the deflection scanning unit and the beam separator arealigned with a primary optical axis of the apparatus. The sample stagesustains the sample so that the surface faces to the objective lens. Thedetection unit is aligned with a secondary optical axis of theapparatus, and the secondary optical axis is not parallel to the primaryoptical axis.

The plurality of detection elements is placed on a detection plane. Thesecondary projection imaging system comprises a zoom lens, ananti-scanning deflection unit, projection lens, a first field lens at afirst transfer plane and a second field lens at a second transfer plane.The first and second field lenses are between the zoom lens and theprojection lens. The first field lens is between the second field lensand the projection lens.

The electron source generates a primary electron beam along the primaryoptical axis. The condenser lens focuses the primary electron beam tocertain degree. The source-conversion unit changes the primary electronbeam into a plurality of beamlets and makes the plurality of beamletsform a plurality of first image of the electron source. The objectivelens focuses the plurality of beamlets to image the plurality of firstimages onto the surface and therefore forms a plurality of probe spotsthereon respectively. The deflection scanning unit deflects theplurality of beamlets to scan the plurality of probe spots respectivelyover a plurality of scanned regions within an observed area on thesurface.

A plurality of slow secondary electron beams and a plurality ofbackscattered electron beams are generated by the plurality of probespots respectively from the plurality of scanned regions and thenincident to the objective lens. The objective lens in passing focusesthe plurality of slow secondary electron beams and the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams.

The detection unit separately operates on a SSE mode and a BSE mode whenthe beam separator respectively deflects the plurality of slow secondaryelectron beams and the plurality of backscattered electron beams toenter the secondary projection imaging system along the secondaryoptical axis.

In the SSE mode, the second field lens is turned off. The zoom lensfocuses the plurality of slow secondary electron beams onto the firsttransfer plane. The first field lens bends the plurality of slowsecondary electron beams towards the secondary optical axis. Theprojection lens focuses the plurality of slow secondary electron beamsonto the detection plane. The plurality of slow secondary electron beamsthen forms a SSE crossover between the projection lens and the detectionplane and a plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots on the detectionplane. The plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots is inside theplurality of detection elements respectively. Consequently a SSEcorresponding relationship between the plurality of probe spots and theplurality of detection elements is established. Accordingly eachdetection element generates a SSE image signal of one correspondingscanned region.

In the BSE mode, the first field lens is turned off. The zoom lensfocuses the plurality of backscattered electron beams onto the secondtransfer plane. The second field lens bends the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams towards the secondary optical axis. Theprojection lens focuses the plurality of backscattered electron beamsonto the detection plane. The plurality of backscattered electron beamsthen forms a BSE crossover between the projection lens and the detectionplane and a plurality of backscattered-electron spots on the detectionplane. The plurality of backscattered-electron spots is inside theplurality of detection elements respectively. Consequently a BSEcorresponding relationship between the plurality of probe spots and theplurality of detection elements is established. Accordingly eachdetection element generates a BSE image signal of one correspondingscanned region.

In the SSE mode, the anti-scanning deflection unit deflects theplurality of slow secondary electron beams in step with the plurality ofprobe spots scanning over the plurality of scanned regions to remainpositions of the plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots and therebykeeping the SSE corresponding relationship all the time.

In the BSE mode, the anti-scanning deflection unit deflects theplurality of backscattered electron beams in step with the plurality ofprobe spots scanning over the plurality of scanned regions to remainpositions of the plurality of backscattered-electron spots and therebykeeping the BSE corresponding relationship all the time.

When observing the surface in different conditions, an imagingmagnification of the zoom lens is adjusted to keep the SSE and BSEcorresponding relationships in the SSE and BSE modes respectively.

In one embodiment, the secondary projection imaging system comprises afirst secondary beam-limit aperture placed at the SSE crossover to cutoff peripheral electrons of the plurality of slow secondary electronbeams in the SSE mode. The secondary projection imaging system comprisesa second secondary beam-limit aperture placed at the BSE crossover tocut off peripheral electrons of the plurality of backscattered electronbeams in the BSE mode. The secondary projection imaging system comprisesa first stigmator to compensate astigmatism aberrations of the pluralityof slow secondary electron beams due to the beam separator in the SSEmode. The secondary projection imaging system comprises a secondstigmator to compensate astigmatism aberrations of the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams due to the beam separator in the BSE mode.The secondary projection imaging system comprises an alignmentdeflector, and in the SSE mode and the BSE mode the alignment deflectorcompensates deviations of the SSE corresponding relationship and the BSEcorresponding relationship respectively due to manufacturing and/orassembly errors of the detection unit. The anti-scanning deflection unitis between the beam separator and the zoom lens.

In one embodiment, the zoom lens comprises a first zoom sub-lens and asecond zoom sub-lens, and the second zoom sub-lens is between the firstzoom sub-lens and the second field lens. The anti-scanning deflectionunit respectively deflects the plurality of slow secondary electronbeams in the SSE mode and the plurality of backscattered electron beamsin the BSE mode incident to the second zoom sub-lens along the secondaryoptical axis. The secondary projection imaging system comprises a firstsecondary beam-limit aperture plate and a second secondary beam-limitaperture plate, each having one or more openings. In the SSE mode oneopening of the first secondary beam-limit aperture plate is placed atthe SSE crossover to cut off peripheral electrons of the plurality ofslow secondary electron beams, and in the BSE mode one opening of thesecond secondary beam-limit aperture plate is placed at the BSEcrossover to cut off peripheral electrons of the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams. The SSE crossover and the BSE crossoverare set at a common position by adjusting the first field lens and thesecond field lens respectively. The secondary projection imaging systemcomprises a third secondary beam-limit aperture plate with one or moreopenings, and that one or one of the more openings is placed at thecommon position in each of the SSE mode and the BSE mode. The secondaryprojection imaging system comprises a stigmator placed close to thethird secondary beam-limit aperture plate, which compensates astigmatismaberrations of the plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots and theplurality of backscattered-electron spots in the SSE mode and the BSEmode respectively due to the beam separator.

In one embodiment, the objective lens has a first magnetic lens. Thefirst field lens may have a second magnetic lens which cancels rotationvariations of the plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots in the SSEmode when observing the surface in different conditions. The secondfield lens may have a third magnetic lens which cancels rotationvariations of the plurality of backscattered-electron spots in the BSEmode when observing the surface in different conditions. The zoom lensmay have a second magnetic lens which cancels rotation variations of theplurality of slow-secondary-electron spots in the SSE mode and theplurality of backscattered-electron spots in the BSE mode respectivelywhen observing the surface in different conditions. The projection lensmay have a second magnetic lens which cancels rotation variations of theplurality of slow-secondary-electron spots in the SSE mode and theplurality of backscattered-electron spots in the BSE mode respectivelywhen observing the surface in different conditions.

In one embodiment, the secondary projection imaging system comprises analignment deflector, which compensates deviations of the SSEcorresponding relationship and the BSE corresponding relationshiprespectively due to manufacturing and/or assembly errors of thedetection unit.

The present invention also provides a method to configure a detectionsystem of a multi-beam apparatus for observing a surface of a sample,which comprises steps of using a beam separator to deflect a pluralityof secondary electron beams generated by a plurality of probe spots onthe surface to travel along a secondary optical axis of the apparatus;step of using a zoom lens to focus the plurality of secondary electronbeams onto a transfer plane, wherein the zoom lens is aligned with thesecondary optical axis; step of using a projection lens to focus theplurality of secondary electron beams from the transfer plane onto adetection plane and form a plurality of secondary-electron spotsthereon, wherein the projection lens is aligned with the secondaryoptical axis; using an electron detection device with a plurality ofdetection elements to detect the plurality of secondary-electron spotsrespectively, wherein the plurality of detection elements is placed onthe detection plane; step of using an anti-scanning deflection unit todeflect the plurality of secondary electron beams in step with theplurality of probe spots scanning over a plurality of scanned regions onthe surface to keep positions of the plurality of secondary-electronspots all the time; and step of adjusting the zoom lens and theprojection lens to cancel radial and rotational variations of positionsof the plurality of secondary-electron spots when observing the surfacein different conditions.

The method may further comprise a step of using a secondary beam-limitaperture to cut off peripheral electrons of the plurality of secondaryelectron beams. The method may further comprise a step of using a fieldlens to reduce off-axis aberrations of the plurality ofsecondary-electron spots. The method may further comprise a step ofusing a stigmator to compensate astigmatism aberrations of the pluralityof secondary-electron spots due to the beam separator. The method mayfurther comprise a step of using an alignment deflector to compensate ashift between the plurality of secondary-electron spots and theplurality of detection elements due to manufacturing and/or assemblyerrors of the detection unit.

The present invention also provides a method to configure a detectionsystem of a multi-beam apparatus for observing a surface of a sample,which comprises steps of operating in a SSE mode, and operating in a BSEmode. The step of operating in a SSE mode comprise steps of using a beamseparator to deflect a plurality of slow secondary electron beamsgenerated by a plurality of probe spots on the surface to travel along asecondary optical axis of the apparatus; step of using a zoom lensaligned with the secondary optical axis to focus the plurality of slowsecondary electron beams onto a first transfer plane; step of using afirst field lens aligned with the secondary optical axis and placed atthe first transfer plane to bend the plurality of slow secondaryelectron beams; step of using a projection lens aligned with thesecondary optical axis to focus the plurality of secondary electronbeams onto a detection plane and form a SSE crossover therebetween and aplurality of slow-secondary-electron spots thereon; step of using anelectron detection device with a plurality of detection elements todetect the plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots respectively,wherein the plurality of detection elements is placed on the detectionplane; step of using an anti-scanning deflection unit to deflect theplurality of slow secondary electron beams in step with the plurality ofprobe spots scanning over a plurality of scanned regions on the surfaceto keep positions of the plurality of slow-secondary-electron spots allthe time; and step of adjusting the zoom lens and the projection lens tocancel radial and rotational variations of positions of the plurality ofslow-secondary-electron spots respectively when observing the surface indifferent conditions. The step of operating in a BSE mode comprise stepsof using the beam separator to deflect a plurality of backscatteredelectron beams generated by the plurality of probe spots on the surfaceto travel along the secondary optical axis of the apparatus; step ofusing the zoom lens to focus the plurality of backscattered electronbeams onto a second transfer plane; step of using a second field lensaligned with the secondary optical axis and placed at the secondtransfer plane to bend the plurality of backscattered electron beams;step of using the projection lens to focus the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams onto the detection plane and form a BSEcrossover therebetween and a plurality of backscattered-electron spotsthereon; step of using the plurality of detection elements to detect theplurality of backscattered-electron spots respectively; step of usingthe anti-scanning deflection unit to deflect the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams in step with the plurality of probe spotsscanning over the plurality of scanned regions to keep positions of theplurality of backscattered-electron spots all the time; and step ofadjusting the zoom lens and the projection lens to cancel radial androtational variations of positions of the plurality ofbackscattered-electron spots respectively when observing the surface indifferent conditions.

In one embodiment, the step of operating in the SSE mode comprises asub-step of using a first secondary beam-limit aperture at the SSEcrossover to cut off peripheral electrons of the plurality of slowsecondary electron beams. The step of operating in the BSE modecomprises a sub-step of using a second secondary beam-limit aperture atthe BSE crossover to cut off peripheral electrons of the plurality ofbackscattered electron beams. The SSE crossover and the BSE crossoverare at or close to a same place. The step of operating in the SSE modecomprises a sub-step of using a stigmator placed close to the same placeto compensate astigmatism aberrations of the plurality ofslow-secondary-electron spots due to the beam separator. The step ofoperating in the BSE mode comprises a sub-step of using the stigmator tocompensate astigmatism aberrations of the plurality ofbackscattered-electron spots due to the beam separator. The step ofoperating in the SSE mode comprises a sub-step of using an alignmentdeflector to compensate a shift between the plurality ofslow-secondary-electron spots and the plurality of detection elementsdue to manufacturing and/or assembly errors of the detection unit. Thestep of operating in the BSE mode comprises a sub-step of using thealignment deflector to compensate a shift between the plurality ofbackscattered-electron spots and the plurality of detection elements dueto manufacturing and/or assembly errors of the detection unit.

The present invention also provides an imaging system for a detectiondevice in a multi-beam apparatus, which comprises means for focusing aplurality of charged particle beams emanated from a sample surface to aplurality of detection elements of the detection device respectively,and means for canceling rotation of the plurality of charged particlebeams induced by a magnetic objective lens in the multi-beam apparatus.

In one embodiment, the imaging system may further comprises means forcanceling scanning of the plurality of charged particle beams on thedetection device, which is induced by a deflection scanning unit in themulti-beam apparatus. The plurality of charged particle beams includes aplurality of slow secondary electron beams and a plurality ofbackscattered electron beams. The detection device is a semiconductordiode detector. The canceling-scanning means is located close to anentrance side of the imaging system. The canceling-scanning meansincludes a first deflector and a second deflector in sequence along anoptical axis of the imaging system. The focusing means includes a zoomlens and a projecting lens in sequence along the optical axis.

In one embodiment, the magnetic objective lens and the zoom lens focusthe plurality of charged particle beams into a transfer plane, and theprojecting lens focuses the plurality of charged particle beams from thetransfer plane into a detection plane on the detection device. The zoomlens includes a first electrostatic lens and a second electrostatic lensin sequence along the optical axis. The canceling-scanning means locatesbetween the first electrostatic lens and a second electrostatic lens.The zoom lens may include a magnetic lens being the canceling-rotationmeans. The projecting lens may include an electrostatic lens and amagnetic lens being the canceling-rotation means.

In one embodiment, the imaging system may further comprise a field lensat the transfer plane for reducing aberration of the plurality ofcharged particle beams. The field lens includes an electrostatic lens.The field lens may include a magnetic lens being the canceling-rotationmeans.

In one embodiment, the imaging system may further comprise a plate withat least one opening, one opening of the plate being as a beam-limitaperture for reducing sizes of the plurality of charged particle beamson the detection device. The plate includes a plurality of selectableopenings with different sizes. The plate locates at a crossover of theplurality of charged particle beams between the projecting lens and thedetection device.

In one embodiment, the imaging system may further comprise a stigmatorfor reducing astigmatism of the plurality of charged particle beams. Thestigmator locates at a crossover of the plurality of charged particlebeams.

In one embodiment, the imaging system may further comprise an alignmentdeflector for aligning the plurality of charged particle beams with aplurality of detection elements of the detection device respectively.The alignment deflector locates between the detection device and theprojecting lens.

Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example,certain embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be readily understood by the followingdetailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like reference numerals designate like structural elements, andin which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a conventional configuration of amulti-beam apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic illustration of the slow secondary electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 3A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 4A-4C are schematic illustrations of the secondary-electron spotson the electron detection device in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an anti-scanning deflection unitoperating in FIG. 3A in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 6A-6C are schematic illustrations of three configurations of theelectromagnetic compound projection lens in FIG. 3A in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 7A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7B is a schematic illustration of the slow secondary electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 7A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a schematic illustration of the slow secondary electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 8A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9B is a schematic illustration of the slow secondary electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 9A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 9C is a schematic illustration of the backscattered electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 9A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10B is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11A is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11B is a schematic illustration of the slow secondary electronstraveling in the secondary projection imaging system in FIG. 1A inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B are schematic illustrations of two options torealize the anti-rotating function in a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic illustration of a secondary projection imagingsystem in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15A is a schematic illustration of a configuration of a multi-beamapparatus in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15B is a schematic illustration of one detection system inaccordance with the embodiment in FIG. 15A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Various example embodiments of the present invention will now bedescribed more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich some example embodiments of the invention are shown. Withoutlimiting the scope of the protection of the present invention, all thedescription and drawings of the embodiments will exemplarily be referredto an electron beam. However, the embodiments are not used to limit thepresent invention to specific charged particles.

In the drawings, relative dimensions of each component and among everycomponent may be exaggerated for clarity. Within the followingdescription of the drawings the same or like reference numbers refer tothe same or like components or entities, and only the differences withrespect to the individual embodiments are described.

Accordingly, while example embodiments of the invention are capable ofvarious modifications and alternative forms, embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described indetail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent tolimit example embodiments of the invention to the particular formsdisclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments of the invention areto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe scope of the invention.

In this invention, “axial” means “in the optical axis direction of anelectron optics element (such as a round lens or a multipole lens), animaging system or an apparatus”, “radial” means “in a directionperpendicular to the optical axis”, “on-axial” means “on or aligned withthe optical axis, and “off-axis” means “not on or not aligned with theoptical axis”.

In this invention, that “an imaging system is aligned with an opticalaxis” means that “all the electron optics elements are aligned with theoptical axis”.

In this invention, X, Y and Z axe form Cartesian coordinate. The primaryoptical axis of the primary projection imaging system is on the Z-axis,and the primary electron beam travels along the Z-axis.

In this invention, “primary electrons” means “electrons emitted from anelectron source and incident onto a being-observed or inspected surfaceof a sample, and “secondary electrons” means “electrons generated fromthe surface by the “primary electrons”.

In this invention, “secondary-electron beam crossover” means “onecrossover of the secondary electron beams, “secondary beam-limitaperture” means “an opening which limits one secondary electron beam”,and “primary beam-limit opening” means “an opening which limits aprimary beamlet”.

This invention proposes one secondary projection imaging system for amulti-beam apparatus. To clearly describe how the secondary projectionimaging system functions in one multi-beam apparatus, the embodiment100A in FIG. 1 is taken as an example. For sake of clarity, only threebeamlets are shown and the number of beamlets can be anyone.

In FIG. 1, three secondary electron beams 102_1 se, 102_2 se and 102_3se respectively generated by the three probe spots 1021S, 1022S and102_3S, travel opposite to the primary optical axis 100_1, pass throughthe objective lens 131 and the deflection scanning unit 132 insuccession. Then the beam separator 160 (Wien Filter) deflects the threesecondary electron beams to enter the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 along the secondary optical axis 150_1 thereof. The secondaryprojection imaging system 150 focuses the three secondary electron beams102_1 se˜102_3 se onto the three detection elements of the electrondetection device 140. Therefore the three detection elementsrespectively and simultaneously generate the image signals of the threescanned regions scanned by the three probe spots 102_1S˜102_3S. Theelectron detection device 140 and the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 form one detection unit 180. The electron optics elements onthe paths of the secondary electron beams, i.e. the objective lens 131,the deflection scanning unit 132, the beam separator 160, the secondaryprojection imaging system 150 and the electron detection device 140,form one detection system.

As well known, the emission of secondary electrons basically obeysLambert's law and has a large energy spread. The energy of one slowsecondary electron is up to 50 eV and mostly close to 1˜5 eV dependingon the sample material, while the energy of one backscattered electronis up to and mostly close to the landing energy of the primary electron.Hence the slow secondary electrons and the backscattered electrons arevery different in energy. Dependent on the features and materials of thesample, the landing energies usually used are with the range 0.1 keV˜5keV, which is almost equal to the energy difference between the slowsecondary electron beam and the backscattered electron beam. However,such a large energy difference incurs two problems. At first, due to thefocusing influence of the objective lens 131 on an electron increaseswith decrease of the energy thereof, the focusing power for the slowsecondary electron beam is stronger than that for the backscatteredelectron beam. Consequently, for each probe spot (such as 102_1S), theobjective lens focuses the slow secondary electron beam and thebackscattered electron beam onto two different image planes with twodifferent imaging magnifications. Secondly, due to the deflectioninfluence of the beam separator 160 on an electron increases withdecrease of the energy thereof, the deflection power for the slowsecondary electron beam is stronger than that for the backscatteredelectron beam. As a result, for each probe spot (such as 102_1S), thebeam separator 160 is not able to simultaneously deflect both the slowsecondary electron beam and the backscattered electron beam to enter thesecondary projection imaging system 150 along the secondary optical axis150_1. Thus, different from a conventional SEM, for each scanned regionscanned by one probe spot, the detection system can not detect one imageformed by the slow secondary electrons and the backscattered electronstogether. Accordingly, the detection system will operate either on onemode which detects the image with slow secondary electrons or on onemode which detects the image with backscattered electrons, respectivelycalled as SSE mode and BSE mode. In the SSE mode and the BSE mode, thebeam separator 160 respectively deflects slow secondary electron beamsand the backscattered electron beams to enter the secondary projectionimaging system 150 along the secondary optical axis 150_1, and thesecondary projection imaging system 150 respectively focuses the slowsecondary electron beams and the backscattered electron beams into thedetection elements of the electron detection device 140.

As mentioned above, the landing energies of the beamlets 102_1˜102_3 maybe changed with the range 0.1 keV˜5 keV for different inspectionapplications. The landing energies can be changed by varying either orboth of the potential of the single electron source 101 or the potentialof the sample 8. Therefore the excitation of the objective lens 131needs to be adjusted to provide the corresponding focusing power for thethree beamlets, and the focusing powers of the objective lens 131 forthe slow secondary electron beams and the backscattered electron beamsaccordingly vary. Thus, the positions and the magnifications of theimages, respectively formed by the slow secondary electron beam and thebackscattered electron beam, will change with the landing energies.Furthermore, the objective lens 131 is usually a magnetic lens or anelectromagnetic compound lens due to the low aberrations thereof. Inthis case, the rotations of the images respectively formed by the slowsecondary electron beam and the backscattered electron beam will alsochange with the landing energies. The foregoing image variations maymove the positions of the secondary-electron spots formed by thesecondary electron beams on the electron detection device 140 to such anextent that the secondary electron beams can not be detected by thecorresponding detection elements. Thus, the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 needs to comprise a zoom function to eliminate the imagingmagnification variation and an anti-rotating function to eliminate theimage rotation variation.

Due to the positions of the secondary-electron spots will move with thethree probe spots 102_1S˜102_3S scanning over the three scanned regions,each of the secondary-electron spots may partially enter one adjacentdetection element when the corresponding probe spot moves to one placeadjacent to the neighbor scanned region (i.e. the sizes of each scannedregion are close to the pitch Ps or if the deflection influence of thedeflection scanning unit 132 on the secondary electrons is too strong.The secondary electrons detected by the adjacent detection elements willgenerate image overlaps of three scanned regions. Such an image overlapwill deteriorate the image resolution and therefore needs to beeliminated. Thus, the secondary projection imaging system needs to haveone anti-scanning function to keep the three secondary-electron spotswithin the corresponding detection elements all the time.

Next, some embodiments of the secondary projection imaging system 150will be shown and described together with the entire detection system.Following the FIG. 1, only three secondary electron beams with respectto the three probe spots are shown although the number of secondaryelectron beams can be anyone. Within the entire detection system,starting from the sample 8, the first part is along the primary opticalaxis 100_1, and the second part is along the secondary optical axis150_1. For sake of clarity, the first part is rotated to along thesecondary optical axis 150_1 and therefore the entire detection systemcan be shown along one straight optical axis.

FIG. 2 shows one embodiment 150-1 of the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 in the detection system 100-1D. The embodiment 150-1 includesthe zoom lens 151, the projection lens 152 and the anti-scanningdeflection unit 157 all aligned with the secondary optical axis 150_1.The detection elements 140_1, 140_2 and 14_3 of the electron detectiondevice 140 are placed on the detection plane SP3. The zoom lens 151, theprojection lens 152 and the objective lens 131 together project thesample surface 7 onto the detection plane SP3, i.e. focus the secondaryelectron beams 102_1 se˜102_3 se to form secondary-electron spots on thedetection elements 140_1, 140_2 and 140_3 respectively when thedeflection scanning unit 132 is off. The anti-scanning deflection unit157 keeps the secondary-electron spots within the correspondingdetection elements during the deflection scanning unit 132 scans thebeamlets 102_1˜102_3 over the three scanned regions.

The total imaging magnification M from the sample surface 7 to thedetection plane SP3 is chosen in terms of Pd and Ps as the equation (1).

$\begin{matrix}{M = \frac{Pd}{Ps}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

In this way each probe spot on the sample surface is imaged onto onedetection element, and thereby ensuring the corresponding relationshipbetween the plurality of probe spots and the plurality of detectionelements. The probe spot pitch Pd may be different for differentinspection applications, and the magnification M will always be changedaccordingly.

The zoom lens 151 comprises two electrostatic lenses 151_11 and 151_12.The image plane of the zoom lens 151 is always at the transfer planeSP2. The positions of the transfer plane SP2 in SSE mode and BSE modeare different and fixed. The projection lens 152 comprises oneelectrostatic lens 152_11 and one magnetic lens 152_12, and the imageplane thereof is always at the detection plane SP3. The first imagingmagnification M1 from the sample surface 7 to the transfer plane SP2 isrealized by the objective lens 131 and the zoom lens 151, the secondimaging magnification M2 from the transfer plane SP2 to the detectionplane SP3 is realized by the projection lens 152, and the total imagingmagnification M from the sample surface 7 to the detection plane SP3 isequal to M1*M2. The second imaging magnification M2 is preferred largerthan the first imaging magnification M1 in the SSE mode.

The zoom lens 151 performs the zoom function. By adjusting the focusingpowers of the two electrostatic lenses 151_11 and 151_12, the imagingmagnification M1 can be varied to achieve the desired value of the totalimaging magnification M. The projection lens 152 performs theanti-rotating function. By adjusting the magnetic field of the magneticlens 152_12 and the focusing power of the electrostatic lens 152_11, thetotal image rotation on the detection plane SP3 and the imagingmagnification M2 can always remain the same. The anti-scanningdeflection unit 157 performs the anti-scanning function. Bysynchronously deflecting the secondary electron beams with thedeflection scanning unit 132, the displacements of threesecondary-electron spots on the detection plane SP3 can be substantiallycanceled. Consequently the corresponding relationship between theplurality of probe spots and the plurality of detection elements canalways be kept.

Basically the anti-scanning deflection unit 157 can be placed at anyplace before the detection plane SP3. To reduce the additionalaberrations of the zoom lens 151 and the projection lens 152, which comefrom the deflection of the secondary electron beams generated by thedeflection scanning unit 132, the anti-scanning deflection unit 157 isbetter placed before the zoom lens 151 and hence the secondary electronbeams will pass through the zoom lens 151 and the projection lens 152 ina way as if the deflection scanning unit 132 is off. However, in thiscase, the zoom lens 151 has to be placed far away from the beamseparator 160 and consequently generates large initial aberrations.Placing anti-scanning deflection unit 157 between the electrostaticlenses 151_11 and 151_12 of the zoom lens 151 is a preferred balance forreducing both the initial aberrations and the additional aberrations, asthe embodiment 150-2 of the secondary projection imaging system 150 inthe detection system 100-2D in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3B shows how the detection system 100-2D works in SSE mode. Atfirst, the objective lens 131 focuses the three slow secondary electronbeams 102_1 sse, 102_2 sse and 102_3 sse from the three probe spots102_1S, 102_2S and 102_3S and forms the first secondary-electron imagesof the three probe spots on the image plane SP1_sse. The image planeSP1_sse is below the zoom lens 151 and moves with the changes of theoperation conditions of the objective lens 131. The beam separator 160deflects the three slow secondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse toenter the secondary projection imaging system 150-2 along the secondaryoptical axis 150_1. The zoom lens 151 then focuses the three slowsecondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse and forms the secondsecondary-electron images of the three probe spots on the transfer planeSP2. The projection lens 152 focuses the three slow secondary electronbeams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse to form the third secondary-electron images ofthe three probe spots on the detection plane SP3, which then form threeslow secondary-electron spots 102_1 sseP, 102_2 sseP and 102_3 ssePrespectively inside three detection elements 140_1, 140_2 and 140_3. InBSE Mode, the detection system 100-2D works in the same way but thepositions of the image plane SP1_sse and the transfer plane SP2 will bedifferent from those in SSE mode.

The anti-scanning deflector unit 157 compensates the influence of thedeflection scanning unit 132 on the three slow secondary electron beams102_1 sse˜102_3 e. When the deflection scanning unit 132 deflects thethree beamlets to scan the corresponding scanned regions on the samplesurface 7, the three slow secondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sseare deflected either. On the detection plane SP3, the deflection shiftsthe slow secondary-electron spots 102_1 sseP˜102_3 sseP from theoriginal positions shown in FIG. 4A to new positions such as those inFIG. 4B. On the one hand, the collection efficiency of each slowsecondary electron beam decreases because a part of the slowsecondary-electron spot thereof is not inside the correspondingdetection element. On the other hand, two slow secondary-electron spotsare partially inside one detection element at the same time, such as102_1 sseP and 102_2 sseP inside 140_1. The image signal from onedetection element includes information from more than one scanned regionon the sample surface 7, thus the cross-talk occurs.

To avoid the cross-talk, the anti-scanning deflector unit 157 needs todeflect the three slow secondary electron beams to cancel the shifts ofthe slow secondary-electron spots on the detection plane SP3. Oneembodiment 157-1 of the anti-scanning deflector unit 157 is shown inFIG. 5, which includes two (can be more) anti-scanning deflectors 157_11and 157_12. The embodiment 157-1 works in the same way in both the SSEmode and the BSE mode, and here the slow secondary electron beam 102_1sse is taken as an example. When the deflection scanning unit 132 doesnot deflects the three beamlets, the slow secondary electron beam 102_1sse passes the zoom lens 151 and the projection lens 152 along thesecondary optical axis 150_1 and hits the center of the detectionelement 140_1, and the path is shown in heavy line. When the deflectionscanning unit 132 deflects the three beamlets to some places away fromthe centers of the corresponding scanned regions on the sample surface7, the slow secondary electron beam 102_1 sse both shifts from and tiltsto the secondary optical axis 150_1 when entering the electrostaticlenses 151_11, and the path is shown in fine line. If the anti-scanningdeflector unit 157 is not employed, the slow secondary electron beam102_1 sse passes through the electrostatic lenses 151_12 and theprojection lens 152 along the path in dash line and partially hits thedetection element 140_1. The off-axis aberrations of the electrostaticlenses 151_12 and the projection lens 152 increase, and the slowsecondary-electron spot 102_1 sseP therefore becomes large. The enlargedspot makes the cross-talk worse. If the anti-scanning deflector unit 157is employed, the first anti-scanning deflector 157_11 deflects the slowsecondary electron beam 102_1 sse to substantially pass the center ofthe second anti-scanning deflector 157_12, and the second anti-scanningdeflector 157_12 therefore can deflect the slow secondary electron beam102_1 sse back to travel along the secondary optical axis 150_1. In thisway, the slow secondary electron beam 102_1 sse will pass through theelectrostatic lenses 151_12 and the projection lens 152 along the pathsame as that when the deflection scanning unit 132 does not deflects thethree beamlets, i.e. travelling along the heavy line and hits the centerof the detection element 140_1.

The magnetic lens 152_12 of the projection lens 152 compensates theinfluence of the objective lens 131 on the rotations of the three slowsecondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse. If the objective lens 131comprises one magnetic lens, the three slow secondary electron beamswill rotate around the primary optical axis 100_1 when passing throughthe magnetic lens, and the rotation angle will change with the magneticfield thereof. Thus, when the magnetic field is changed due to somereasons (such as the changes of the landing energies of the threebeamlets 102_1˜102_3), the three slow secondary-electron spots 102_1sseP˜102_3 sseP will rotate around the secondary optical axis 150_1 fromthe original positions in FIG. 4A to new positions such as those in FIG.4C. Accordingly the collection efficiency of three slow secondaryelectron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse decreases and the cross-talk willappear if the beamlets are arranged in a 2D array. In this case, themagnetic field of the magnetic lens 152_12 will be adjusted to rotatethe three slow secondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse in theopposite direction to cancel the rotation variation of the three slowsecondary-electron spots 102_1 sseP˜102_3 sseP due to the change of themagnetic field of the objective lens 131.

FIGS. 6A-6C respectively show one configuration of the projection lens152 which can perform the anti-rotating function. In the configuration152-1 of FIG. 6A, the electrostatic lens 152_11 is inside the magneticlens 152_12, and comprises three electrodes 152_11_e1, 152_11_e2 and152_11_e3. The electrostatic lens 152_11 can perform as an einzel lens.Due to the electrostatic field of the electrostatic lens 152_11 and themagnetic field of the magnetic lens 152_12 are separated to a greatdegree, the imaging magnification M2 will change with the magnetic fieldvariation of the magnetic lens 152_12. Hence the zoom lens 151 needs tocompensate the variation of the imaging magnification M2 when themagnetic lens 152_12 is adjusted to perform the anti-rotating function.To avoid this complicated procedure, the electrostatic field center ofthe electrostatic lens 152_11 and the magnetic field center of themagnetic lens 152_12 are preferred coincident, as the embodiment 152-2shown in FIG. 6B. If both electrodes 152_11_e3 and 152_11_e1 aregrounded, they can be replaced by the upper and lower pole-pieces of themagnetic lens 152_12, as the embodiment 152-3 shown in FIG. 6C.

To get high collection efficiency and low cross-talk level, obviously itis better to make the secondary-electron spots as small as possible,i.e. reduce the aberrations of the zoom lens 151 and the projection lens152 as much as possible. One solution is using a field lens to reducethe aberrations of the off-axis secondary-electron spots. In FIG. 3B,the two off-axis slow secondary electron beams 102_2 sse and 102_3 sseenter the projection lens 152 with large radial shifts and tilt angles,and accordingly have large off-axis aberrations. FIG. 7A shows oneembodiment 150-3 of the secondary projection imaging system 150 in thedetection system 100-3D. In FIG. 7A, the field lens 153 and the fieldlens 154 are respectively placed at the transfer plane SP2_1 of the SSEmode and the transfer plane SP2_2 of the BSE mode, and both are alignedwith secondary optical axis 150_1. If the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 is only required to work in one of the SSE mode and the BSEmode, only the corresponding field lens is placed there. FIG. 7B showshow the field lens 153 works in the SSE mode. In comparison with FIG.3B, the field lens 153 bends the slow secondary electron beams 102_2 sseand 102_3 sse toward the secondary optical axis 105_1 withoutinfluencing the on-axis slow secondary electron beams 102_1 sse and thetotal imaging magnification M. In FIG. 7B, the secondary electron beams102_2 sse and 102_3 sse are bent to pass through the center of theprojection lens 152, i.e. the radial shifts are almost eliminated butthe tilt angles are large. Actually the field lens 153 can be adjustedto balance the radial shifts and the tilt angles so as to make the slowsecondary-electron spots 102_2 sseP and 102_3 sseP as small as possible.

Another solution is using a beam-limit aperture to cut off theperipheral electrons of one secondary electron beam because theperipheral electrons usually have large aberrations. FIG. 8A shows oneembodiment 150-4 of the secondary projection imaging system 150 in thedetection system 100-4D, wherein the secondary beam-limit aperture plate155 with one opening 155_A is placed above the projection lens 152. Theopening 155_A is aligned with the secondary optical axis 150_1 and at orclose to the last crossover of the secondary electron beams 102_1se˜102_3 se. FIG. 8B shows how the opening 155_A works in the SSE mode.In comparison with FIG. 3B, the opening 155_A is placed at the lastcrossover CO₃ and therefore can cut off the peripheral electrons of thethree slow secondary electron beams 102_1 sse˜102_3 sse together. Due tothe positions of the crossovers in the SSE mode and the BSE mode aredifferent and change with the landing energies of the beamlets102_1˜102_3 and the operation conditions of the objective lens 131, theopening 155_A can only work very well for some application cases if notmoving to match the position of the corresponding crossover. FIG. 9Ashows one embodiment 150-5 of the secondary projection imaging system150 in the detection system 100-5D, wherein the positions of the lastcrossovers in the SSE mode and BSE mode are fixed at the same place andhence the opening 155_A of the beam-limit aperture plate 155 has a goodperformance for all the application cases.

Similar to FIG. 7A, in FIG. 9A the field lens 153 and the field lens 154are respectively placed at the transfer plane SP2_1 of the SSE mode andthe transfer plane SP2_2 of the BSE mode, and both are aligned withsecondary optical axis 150_1. If the secondary projection imaging system150 is only required to work in one of the SSE mode and the BSE mode,only the corresponding field lens is placed there. In each of the SSEmode and the BSE mode, the corresponding field lens bends the off-axissecondary electron beams to make the last crossover thereof at or veryclose to the opening 155_A. In the SSE mode as shown in FIG. 9B, thefield lens 154 is off or absent and the field lens 153 bends the slowsecondary electron beams 102_2 sse and 102_3 sse toward the secondaryoptical axis 150_1 to pass through the opening 155_A. In the BSE mode asshown in FIG. 9C, the field lens 153 is off or absent and the field lens154 bends the backscattered electron beams 102_2 be and 102_3 be towardthe secondary optical axis 150_1 to pass through the opening 155_A. Inthe SSE mode and the BSE mode, the field lens 153 and the field lens 154reduce the aberrations of the projection lens 152 and keep the positionof the last crossover at the same time.

The smaller the radial size of the opening 155_A is used, the lower thecollection efficiencies and the less cross-talks of the image signals ofthe detection elements 140_1, 140_2 and 140_3 will be. Hence the radialsize is chosen by balancing the collection efficiency and the cross-talklevel. The optimal radial sizes in the SSE mode and the BSE mode may bedifferent. To enable each mode work with the optimal radial sizethereof, the beam-limit aperture plate 155 can have two or moreopenings, as the embodiment 150-6-1 of the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 in the detection system 100-6-1D shown in FIG. 10A. In FIG.10A, the beam-limit aperture plate 155 has two openings 155_1 and 155_2and can be moved perpendicular to the secondary optical axis 150_1. Theopening 155_1 and the opening 155_2 have the optimal radial sizes forthe SSE mode and BSE mode respectively. When the embodiment 150-6 worksin the SSE mode, the beam-limit aperture plate 155 is moved to align theopening 155_1 with the secondary optical axis 150_1. When the embodiment150-6 works in the BSE mode, the beam-limit aperture plate 155 is movedto align the opening 155_2 with the secondary optical axis 150_1. If thebeam-limit aperture plate 155 has two or more openings with differentradial sizes for each mode, the collection efficiency and the cross-talklevel can be balanced to different degrees.

For some applications, the optimal positions of the last crossovers ofthe secondary electron beams in the SSE mode and BSE mode may bedifferent. Accordingly two separate secondary beam-limit aperture platescan be used, which are placed at different positions along the secondaryoptical axis 150_1 and above the projection lens 152, as the embodiment150-6-2 of the secondary projection imaging system 150 in the detectionsystem 100-6-2D shown in FIG. 10B. In FIG. 10B, the first secondarybeam-limit aperture plate 155 and the second secondary beam-limitaperture plate 156 are respectively placed at the optimal positions ofthe last crossovers of the secondary electron beams in the SSE mode andthe BSE mode, and each can have one or more openings with differentradial sizes for differently balancing the collection efficiency and thecross-talk level. In the SSE mode, the field lens 153 bends the slowsecondary electron beams 102_2 sse and 102_3 sse (refer to FIG. 9B) toform one crossover at one opening of the first secondary beam-limitaperture plate 155, wherein the opening is aligned with the secondaryoptical axis 150_1 and has a desired radial size and accordingly thesecond secondary beam-limit aperture plate 156 can be moved away or toalign one large enough opening thereof with the secondary optical axis150_1. In the BSE mode, the field lens 154 bends the backscatteredelectron beams 102_2 be and 102_3 be (refer to FIG. 9C) to form onecrossover at one opening of the second secondary beam-limit apertureplate 156, wherein the opening is aligned with the secondary opticalaxis 150_1 and has a desired radial size and accordingly the firstsecondary beam-limit aperture plate 155 can be moved away or to alignone large enough opening thereof with the secondary optical axis 150_1.

The beam separator 160 generates astigmatism when deflecting thesecondary electron beams 102_1 se˜102_3 se to enter the secondaryprojection imaging system 150 along the secondary optical axis 150_1.The astigmatism enlarges the secondary-electron spots on the detectionplane SP3, and thereby decreasing the collection efficiency andincreasing the cross-talk. One stigmator can be used to compensate theastigmatism. For equally influencing all the secondary electron beams,the stigmator is better placed at or close to a crossover of thesecondary electron beams. If the secondary projection imaging system 150is only required to work in one of the SSE mode and the BSE mode, thestigmator can be at or close to one of the second last crossover (CO₂ inFIG. 8B) and the last crossover (CO₃ in FIG. 8B), as the embodiment150-7 of the secondary projection imaging system 150 in the detectionsystem 100-7D shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1A, the stigmator 158 is placedat the second last crossover below the transfer plane SP2. FIG. 11Bshows where the stigmator 158 is for the SSE mode.

If the secondary projection imaging system 150 is required to work ineach of the SSE mode and the BSE mode, the stigmator is better at orclose to the last crossover. The positions of the second last crossoversin the SSE mode and the BSE mode obviously separate and one stigmatorcan not work for both. Hence two stigmators have to be placed at orclose to the second last crossovers in the SSE mode and the BSE moderespectively. Due the positions of the last crossovers in the SSE modeand the BSE mode can be adjusted to the same place by the field lensesthereof, the SSE mode and the BSE mode can simply share one stigmator,as the embodiment 150-8 of the secondary projection imaging system 150in the detection system 100-8D shown in FIG. 12.

Similar to Similar to FIG. 9A, in FIG. 12 the field lens 153 and thefield lens 154 are respectively placed at the transfer plane SP2_1 ofthe SSE mode and the transfer plane SP2_2 of the BSE mode, and both arealigned with secondary optical axis 150_1. In each of the SSE mode andthe BSE mode, the corresponding one of the field lenses 153 and 154bends the secondary electron beams to make the last crossover thereof ator very close to the opening 155_A of the secondary beam-limit apertureplate 155. The stigmator 158 is aligned with the secondary optical axis150_1 and close to (above or below) the secondary beam-limit apertureplate 155.

In the foregoing embodiments of the secondary projection imaging system150, the anti-rotating function is done by the projection lens 152. Infact, the anti-rotating function can be performed by the zoom lens 151,or the corresponding field lens (153 or 154), or one extra magneticlens. In the embodiment 150-9-1 of the secondary projection imagingsystem 150 of the detection system 100-9-1D shown in FIG. 13A, the fieldlens 153 comprises one electrostatic lens 153_11 and one magnetic lens153_12. The magnetic field of the magnetic lens 153_12 is adjusted torealize the anti-rotating function, and the desired bending function ofthe field lens 153 is done by adjusting the focusing power of theelectrostatic lens 153_11 on the base of the magnetic field of themagnetic lens 153_12. In the embodiment 150-9-2 of the secondaryprojection imaging system 150 of the detection system 100-9-2D shown inFIG. 13B, one magnetic lens 151_13 is added to the electrostatic lens151_12 of the zoom lens 151 and thereby forming the electromagneticcompound lens 151_12 c. Similarly, the magnetic lens 151_13 can also beadded to the electrostatic lens 151_11 to form one electromagneticcompound lens 151_11 c or simply placed between the two electrostaticlenses 151_11 and 151_12. The magnetic field of the magnetic lens 151_13is adjusted to realize the anti-rotating function, and the desired zoomfunction of the zoom lens 151 is done by adjusting the focusing powersof the electrostatic lenses 151_11 and 151_12 on the base of themagnetic field of the magnetic lens 151_13. The field lens 153 in FIG.13A and the electromagnetic compound lens 151_12 c in FIG. 13B or theelectromagnetic compound lens 151_11 c (not shown) respectively canemploy one of the configurations of the projection lens 152 shown inFIGS. 6A-6C.

In the foregoing embodiments of the secondary projection imaging system150, the zoom lens 51, the projection lens 152 and the center detectionelement (140_1 here) of the electron detection device 140 are alignedwith the secondary optical axis 150_1. In reality, it is hardly possibleto manufacture all of them perfectly and assemble all of them exactly atthe right places thereof, and hence the secondary-electron spots on thedetection plane SP3 possibly shift away from the corresponding detectionelements. To make the secondary-electron spots coincident with thecorresponding detection elements, either moving the electron detectiondevice 140 or moving the secondary-electron spots. Comparatively movingthe secondary-electron spots is simply and flexible. To do so, onealignment deflector can be placed above the projection lens 152 in theforegoing embodiments of the secondary projection imaging system 150 todeflect the secondary electron beams to move the secondary-electronspots with respect to real position of the electron detection device140. For example, one alignment deflector 159 is placed above theprojection lens 152 of the embodiment 150-7 in FIG. 11A and shown inFIG. 14. The new embodiment in FIG. 14 is named as 150-10. FIG. 14further shows if one secondary beam-limit aperture plate 155 is used,the alignment deflector 159 is placed thereover. For the embodiments ofthe secondary projection imaging system 150, which employ one stigmatorabove the projection lens 152 (such as FIG. 12), the stigmator can bedesigned to have a multipole structure which can function as onestigmator and one alignment deflector simultaneously.

In FIG. 1, the deflection scanning unit 132 below the beam separator 160and thereby influencing the secondary electron beams 102_1 se˜102_3 se.Accordingly, for the displacement of one secondary-electron spot on thedetection plane SP3, the first portion comes from the displacement ofthe corresponding probe spot on the sample surface 7 and the totalmagnification M, and the second portion is due to the deflectioninfluence of the deflection scanning unit 132. If the deflectionscanning unit 132 is above the beam separator 160, as the embodiment200A of the multi-beam apparatus in FIG. 15, the second portion will notexist. In this case, the secondary projection imaging system 150 cantake any of the foregoing embodiments. In FIG. 15B, one embodiment200-1D of the corresponding detection system employs the embodiment151-2 shown in FIG. 3A, wherein the anti-scanning deflection unit 157only needs to cancel the first portions of the displacements of thesecondary-electron spots. Furthermore, if the sizes of each scannedregion are smaller than the pitch Pd and each of the adjacent probespots to a certain degree, the anti-scanning deflection unit 157 caneven be removed.

In summary, the object of this invention is to provide a secondaryprojection imaging system of a multi-beam apparatus, which makes thesecondary electron detection with both high collection efficiency andlow cross-talk level even if the landing energies and/or currents of theplural beamlets change within large ranges. As a yield management toolin semiconductor manufacturing industry, the multi-beam apparatustherefore can achieve high inspection resolution and high inspectionthroughput in many application conditions. The secondary projectionimaging system basically employs one zoom lens, one projection lens andone anti-scanning deflection unit. With respect to the variations inlanding energies of the plural beamlets and the corresponding operationconditions of the objective lens of the multi-beam apparatus, the zoomlens and the projection lens respectively perform the zoom function andthe anti-rotating function to remain the total imaging magnification andthe total image rotation from the sample surface to the detection plane,and hence the plural detection elements of the electron detection deviceat the detection plane can respectively detect the plural secondaryelectron beams generated by the plural beamlets. The anti-scanningdeflection unit performs the anti-scanning function, which synchronouslydeflects the secondary electron beams to remain the landing positions ofthe plural secondary electron beams on the detection plane when thedeflection scanning unit scans the plural beamlets over the smallscanned regions. The secondary projection imaging system can further useone field lens and/or a secondary beam-limit aperture to reduce thesizes of the plural secondary electron beams on the detection plane, andtherefore increase the collection efficiencies of the plural secondaryelectron beams and reduce the cross-talks among the plural secondaryelectron beams. The secondary projection imaging system can also use onealignment deflector to eliminate the mismatch of the plural secondaryelectron beams and the plural detection elements which comes from themanufacturing and/or assembly errors of the zoom lens, the projectionlens and the electron detection device. The zoom lens or the field lenscan also perform the anti-rotating function if using one magnetic lenstherein.

Although the present invention has been explained in relation to itspreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that other modificationsand variation can be made without departing the spirit and scope of theinvention as hereafter claimed.

1-76. (canceled)
 77. A multi-beam imaging system comprising: a magneticlens configured to adjust rotation of a plurality of secondary beams ofcharged particles of the multi-beam imaging system to enable detectionof the plurality of secondary beams of charged particles by acorresponding plurality of detection elements.
 78. The system of claim77, wherein the magnetic lens is configured to generate a secondrotation that reduces a first rotation generated by another component ofthe multi-beam imaging system.
 79. The system of claim 78, wherein theother component includes an objective lens configured to focus aplurality of charged particle beamlets onto a sample surface.
 80. Thesystem of claim 79, wherein the magnetic lens is configured to minimizerotation variation of the plurality of secondary beams of chargedparticles when observing a sample in different conditions.
 81. Thesystem of claim 80, wherein the magnetic lens is configured to adjustrotation based on a focusing power of the objective lens.
 82. The systemof claim 78, wherein the other component includes a beam separatorconfigured to separate a plurality of charged particle beamlets directedonto a sample surface from the plurality of secondary beams of chargedparticles.
 83. The system of claim 79, wherein the other componentincludes a beam separator configured to separate the plurality ofcharged particle beamlets from the plurality of secondary beams ofcharged particles.
 84. The system of claim 77, further comprising: asecondary projection imaging system configured to focus the plurality ofsecondary beams of charged particles onto the plurality of detectionelements, wherein the magnetic lens is included in the secondaryprojection imaging system.
 85. The system of claim 77, wherein themagnetic lens is configured based on operation conditions of anobjective lens of the multi-beam imaging system.
 86. The system of claim77, wherein the multi-beam imaging system includes a multi-beam scanningelectron microscope (SEM).
 87. The system of claim 77, wherein themagnetic lens is included in a field lens.
 88. The system of claim 87,wherein the field lens includes a plurality of lenses.
 89. The system ofclaim 87, wherein the field lens is arranged at a transfer plane ofanother component of a secondary projection imaging system configured tofocus the plurality of secondary beams of charged particles onto theplurality of detection elements.
 90. The system of claim 77, wherein themagnetic lens includes a plurality of lenses.
 91. The system of claim77, further comprising: a zoom lens and a projection lens configured tofocus the plurality of secondary beams of charged particles that areemanated from a sample surface to the plurality of detection elements ofa detection device respectively, wherein the zoom lens, the magneticlens, and the projection lens are configured to keep a correspondingrelationship of the plurality of secondary beams of charged particlesand the plurality of detection elements respectively.
 92. The system ofclaim 91, wherein the corresponding relationship includes imaging eachprobe spot on the sample surface onto one detection element among theplurality of detection elements, and the zoom lens, the magnetic lens,and the projection lens are configured to ensure the correspondingrelationship.
 93. The system of claim 91, wherein the zoom lens and theprojection lens are configured to eliminate imaging magnificationvariation caused by adjusting a focusing power of an objective lens thatis configured to focus a plurality of charged particle beamlets onto thesample surface, and the magnetic lens is configured to eliminaterotation variation of the plurality of secondary beams of chargedparticles when observing the sample in different conditions.
 94. Thesystem of claim 91, wherein the zoom lens and the projection lens areconfigured to set an imaging magnification from the sample surface to adetection plane at the detection device, and the zoom lens and theprojection lens are configured to adjust the imaging magnification basedon a focusing power of an objective lens.
 95. The system of claim 91,further comprising: a beam separator configured to separate theplurality of charged particle beamlets from the plurality of secondarybeams of charged particles, wherein the beam separator is configured toswitch between a secondary charged particle mode and a backscatteredcharged particle mode, and the zoom lens, the magnetic lens, and theprojection lens are configured to keep the corresponding relationshipbased on which of the secondary charged particle mode and thebackscattered charged particle mode the beam separator is operating in.96. The system of claim 91, wherein the magnetic lens is included in thezoom lens or the projection lens.